Gila monster road mortality in and near Saguaro National Park: An analysis of road and landscape characteristics that affect roadkill
Paredes KE. 2017. Gila monster road mortality in and near Saguaro National Park: An analysis of road and landscape characteristics that affect roadkill. University of Arizona
Submitted as thesis to Honors College, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the impact of roadkill mortality on Gila monster populations in areas within and adjacent to Saguaro National Park Rincon Mountain District. The impact of urbanization on Gila monster roadkill incidence was considered through five factors: traffic density, speed limit, housing density, road density, and the number of lanes on the roads. Factors included road mortality, predicting roadkill hotspots, and recommendations for implementing effective mitigation measures. Unlike other lizards that can sprint away from danger, the maximum speed recorded of a Gila monster sprinting is only 1.9km/hour (Beck et al. 1995). Therefore, a Gila monster in the path of a fast-moving car may not be quick enough to escape the fate of roadkill, which may be their largest source of human caused mortality. The study confirmed that traffic density is the most significant human development factor to consider when studying road mortality of Gila monsters. The results of this study also indicate that speed limit, housing density, road density, and number of lanes alone are not able to predict roadkill hotspots.
- Type
- Academic
- Authors
- Paredes, Karina
- Date of Issue
- 2017-05
- Publisher
- University of Arizona
- Units
- SAGU
- Keywords
- citizen science, Gila Monster, Heloderma suspectum, Rincon Mountain District, roadkill patterns, thesis, urban development, vehicular traffic density
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Desert Communities , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Amphibians and Reptiles , Ecological Framework: Human Use | Point-Source Human Effects | Point-Source Human Effects , NPS.gov Subject Site: Amphibians & Reptiles , NPS.gov Subject Site: At-Risk Species , NPS.gov Subject Site: Citizen Science , NPS.gov Subject Site: Deserts